Phobia Success Stories

In 2011 The Speakmans cured Sharnie’s phobia of pantomime horses and costume characters. After the clip went viral she went back on the show to share how The Speakmans changed her life.

Claustrophobia sufferers can be completely debilitated by small spaces, such as elevators, tunnels, trains, rear seats in cars and public toilets. Kevin has suffered for 48 years and he even relies on his wife, Tracey, to stand with him when he uses a public restroom.

A fear of vomit is known as emetophobia. Becky thought that she had suffered with emetophobia for the last 8 years, but during therapy with The Speakmans, she realized that she had struggled with the phobia ever since she was a child. As a result of her emetophobia, Becky struggles to leave the house.

A fear of driving is known as amaxophobia or vehophobia. Caroline, mum of two has an overwhelming fear of driving. Six years ago she had a panic attack whilst driving and she hasn't driven properly for five years. Caroline says, "I know I can drive and yet I don't know why I cant drive!" She uses taxis whilst having her own car on the drive. She is now an anxious passenger too.

Escalaphobia is the fear of escalators, and is surprisingly common. In the case of Lucy, she is unable to go to shopping centers, in an effort to avoid escalators at all costs. Lucy’s escalaphobia is exacerbated by an underlying additional phobia of heights, copied from her mother’s fear when she was a child.

A fear of spiders is commonly known as arachnophobia. For Selling Sunset star Chelsea Lazkani, her phobia of spiders has become so intense, she sees the image of spiders in her mind even when they’re not there.

Heather has suffered with a garlic phobia for 40 years. Known as alliumphobia, this fear has completely dominated her life as garlic is an ingredient in most packaged foods. She has even left jobs because of garlic.

Some people with masklophobia (such as Jessica) have a more generalized phobia that might even extend beyond masks to costumed characters as well. Common symptoms include, but are not limited to, sweating, shaking, crying, and heart palpitations.

Nearly a third of people have admitted to a phobia of snakes (ophidiophobia) in a recent study. Karla’s phobia began at 5 years old. Her mother’s reaction to snakes caused Karla to be irrationally fearful of them whenever she was near them — which was relatively often, given Karla lives in the Hollywood Hills.

Tomophobia is a fear of medical interventions and trypanophobia is a fear of needles. Carrie Rush was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, but due to her phobia, she’s unable to receive the treatment that she needs.

Fionn has had fructophobia or a fear of all fruit the whole life. Avoiding fruit aisles in supermarkets and even leaving bars if they put a lemon slice in her drink.

A fear of costumed characters is known as masklophobia. When it’s the festive season and pantomimes become more popular (such as Christmas) for sufferers such as Becky Haddock, their fear becomes much more exaggerated and intense.

Agoraphobia is a fear of leaving the house. Nicola has depression, anxiety, and suffers from panic attacks. She hasn’t left her house in the past 4 years, believing her house is her comfort zone and the only safe place on Earth.

Trypanophobia is a phobia of needles, noscomephobia is an intense fear of hospitals. Sally-Anne fear fear of needles and hospitals has prevented her from having the lifesaving treatment she needs for stage 3 ovarian cancer. She has refused surgery and medicine to help her, as it would have had to have been administered by injection.

A phobia of snakes is known as ophidiophobia. Dawn’s fear of snakes started when she watched a horror movie called Venom when she was little. Since then (for the last 30 years) she has been absolutely terrified.

A fear of birds is known as ornithophobia. For Paula, she has had the phobia her entire life; she can’t be near them, she can’t eat them, she can’t see them. Paula’s husband Dermot is a chef whose dishes mostly contain chicken, however they can’t enjoy his food as a couple, due to his wife’s debilitating fear.

Katsaridaphobia is a phobia of cockroaches, arachnophobia is a phobia of spiders and ophidiophobia is a phobia of snakes. TV presenter Jeremy Kyle is afraid of all three (plus many more creepy crawlies) adamant that he will never be able to overcome his phobias.

Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders. Stanley has had a debilitating phobia of the creepy crawlies since the age of 2, ever since his sister was bitten by a black widow spider.

Cibophobia is a fear of food. Ross has only ever eaten three foods, chicken, bacon & chips. His family are so worried he will die young as he is so unhealthy and overweight. His fear of trying new foods is so strong he can't even go into the kitchen. This started when he was force fed as a child.

A fear of spiders is known as arachnophobia. Amy Hill has had a crippling phobia of spiders for as long as she remembers. When in spider season, arachnophobes such as Amy suffer so much more from panic attacks and anxiety, becoming a prisoner in their own home if a spider is present.

Aquaphobia is a fear of water. Angie McCartney (stepmother to Paul McCartney from The Beatles) has had aquaphobia ever since the age of 6 after having a traumatic experience with the sea on a beach in England. She now avoids the sight of water and swimming pools.

Ichthyophobia is a fear of fish, dead fish, or eating fish. 24-year old Roxanne suffers with panic attacks from thinking about fish, originating from an traumatic event occurring on holiday when she was a teenager at the age of 14.

Agoraphobia is a disorder that is characterized by feelings of anxiety in situations where the sufferer perceives certain environments as dangerous or uncomfortable, sometimes unable to even leave their homes. Such as is the case with 18-year old Shaquille, who has been terrified of leaving the house for 3 years now, making her a prisoner in her own home.

Masklophobia (sometimes referred to as maskaphobia) is a specific phobia used to classify a general - and in some cases an irrational - fear of masks, but also people in costumed clothing and mascots, which is common among toddlers and young children such as Molly.

A phobia of bees (melissophobia) or wasps (spheksophobia) can be acquired from experiencing a distressing or unpleasant event with them as a child. In the case of Shana, this is definitely the case, with her being petrified of bees and wasps since childhood.

Trypanophobia is a fear of needles. Paralympic tennis player Abbie suffers with a neurological wasting disease, therefore she had to be subjected to a multitude of needle-related experiments, which has exacerbated her fear of needles.

A phobia of dentists is known as dentophobia. Sarah’s fear of dentists started when she was 13, and it’s so intense that she once went to the extreme measure of pulling out her own teeth.

A phobia of dogs is known as cynophobia. Although never being bitten by a dog, 21-year old Bryony still has a phobia of all kinds of dogs — panicking about the way they look, the way they sound, the way they move.

Sharnie Christie has a fear of people in fancy dress and in particular Pantomime Horses. She has struggled for ten years and seeing a mascot brings her to tears.

Acrophobia is a debilitating phobia of heights. Paul Maplelthorpe is terrified of heights, having had the fear most of his working life. The Speakmans help Paul overcome his fears and test whether he has overcome them, by attempting to get him up Blackpool Tower.

Agoraphobia is the irrational fear of leaving someone’s home, or being anxious in places where escaping would be difficult. Georgia Williamson suffers with crippling agoraphobia, not being able to leave her house in 4 years.

Acrophobia is the fear of heights. Jaime has had the phobia for a very long time. Now that she is starting to raise children, herself and her family are concerned that if she doesn’t overcome it soon, Jaime will pass it on to her children — a common way for a child to inherit a debilitating phobia.

Acrophobia is the fear of heights, and it’s one of the top five fears in the world. It is a gateway phobia, known to create other phobias, such as bridges or the fear of falling. The Speakmans help three people overcome their fear of heights by helping them get up the London Eye.

An irrational fear of death is called thanatophobia. After hearing about a friend’s relative passing away at the age of 34, Emma is now absolutely terrified of anyone else close to her dying.

Coulrophobia is a phobia of clowns, making people see clowns as more sinister than they actually are. Heather’s fear debilitates her whole life; her coulrophobia started in childhood, after receiving a Jack-In-The-Box — getting terrified of the clown jumping out of its box.

Pharmacophobia is an irrational fear of taking medication. Amanda has a phobia of taking tablets. Having no kidneys and needing dialysis three times a week she needs a kidney transplant. She cannot go on the waiting list though until she is prepared to take certain medication.

A fear of spiders (arachnophobia) is one of the most common phobias in the world. Donna's phobia has had a crippling effect on her life, always being on high alert in fear of encountering a spider — having had arachnophobia for almost 50 years.

Ichthyophobia is an irrational, exaggerated fear of fish. Lucy has had the phobia for 13 years since she was age 10 in school, being specifically triggered by viewing fish dishes in restaurants, experiencing anxiety and panic attacks, being repulsed by touching them.

Escalaphobia is a fear of escalators. Donna has had a phobia ever since she watched the film ‘An American Werewolf in London’ as a teenager, desperately avoiding escalators at all costs.

A phobia of balloons is known scientifically as globophobia. This irrational fear is often triggered by the sound, touch and smell of balloons. Also for some sufferers such as Barbara, globophobia is triggered by the sound of a balloon popping.

A fear of clowns is known as coulrophobia. Naomi’s phobia started at 5 or 6 in a TV rental store, when she came across a clown and it terrified her. She has regular monthly nightmares about clowns — she has to stay indoors when it’s the week of Halloween.

Flying phobias are also known as aerophobia. Alison has had a fear of flying since she first flew at the age of 19. Now being petrified of plane travel for 20 years. Now this is becoming between Alison and her family as her daughter lives in Dubai. Even the sight of planes are now unbearable for her.

Pediophobia is a rare and intense fear of dolls. Donna Dean has had the phobia since she was a toddler, sometimes fainting at the sight of dolls. She has two young daughters, therefore Donna’s fear definitely incapacitates her joy and happiness with her children.

An irrational fear of balloons is known as globophobia. The Speakmans believe once you remember the origin of a phobia and begin to challenge it, its foundation will start to fall apart; in the case of Faye, she remembers her phobia beginning aged 7 at a birthday party, where a balloon exploded in her face.

Venephobia is a fear of veins. Claire has a fear of veins which causes the simplest of household tasks hard for her to deal with. Even washing her hands is an effort as she can't look at her hands whilst washing them. Her fear is so bad that she looked into having her legs and arms amputated to avoid seeing veins.

The Speakmans want to prove scientists who say we are hardwired from birth to be frightened of spiders (arachnophobia) and snakes (ophidiophobia) wrong. To do so, they have created a clinic with three people who suffer with either arachnophobia or ophidiophobia.

Pediophobia is a phobia of dolls. 21-year old Stacy’s fear is triggered by a range of dolls (specifically the eyes on dolls) from old-fashioned china dolls and porcelain dolls, to dolls that talk and move.

Ornithophobia is the medical name for an overwhelming fear of birds. For Lynsey (The Queen Of Clean) from This Morning, she reveals that her phobia symptoms seem to be getting worse over time.

Masklophobia is a fear of masks. Hilary Freeman’s fear of masks exacerbated over the COVID pandemic when face masks became mandatory, creating a sense of sheer panic and anxiety within her.

Hannah has had a fear of clowns her whole life (which is known as coulrophobia) and cries and physically shakes at the thought of seeing one. The ‘Panic Room’ has clown themed tests, the last one being a real clown.

The humble Brussel sprout has long divided opinion at the Christmas dinner table, but they are firmly banned in Kerstin Shepherd’s house, whose fear of sprouts means she gets hot, sweaty and shaky if faced with them.

Having an exaggerated fear of birds is officially called ornithophobia. For 64-year old Jackie, she’s had a bird phobia all of her life - stating it’s the bird’s wings flapping which triggers her intense phobic response.

Lepidopterophobia is the fear of butterflies. While some people may have a mild fear of these insects, Gail has an excessive and irrational fear, stemming from her mother in childhood, which affects the lives of her family around her.

Phillipa has been terrified of freezers, known medically as syskeviphobia, for 46 years. Her anxiety is always through the roof and it has escalated over the years — Phillipa can’t use the freezer at home, and has to avoid freezers when shopping in the supermarket.

Ranidaphobia is a fear of frogs or toads. Unlike most phobias that develop in childhood, many frog and toad phobias develop later in life as a result of a traumatic experience. For example, whilst mowing the lawn and running over frogs and toads, such as is the case of Wendy.

Ranidaphobia is a fear of frogs. Sarah struggles to leave the house because of her phobia — inheriting it at the age of 6 when she kissed a frog and contracted hepatitis. She has two children; because her ranidaphobia is so bad, after reading a bedtime story to her children that had a picture of a frog, she can no longer read to them at night.

Ophidiophobia is an extreme and irrational phobia of snakes. Sarah works for a wildlife organization and her overwhelming fear of snakes is beginning to inhibit her from doing her job to the best of her ability.

Aerophobia is the fear of flying. Alessandro has been fine with going on aeroplanes most of his life, but all of that changed after one traumatic experience. The Speakmans believe that a fear of flying can stem from either a fear of heights (acrophobia) or a fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia).

One in seven people have a fear of flying, known as aerophobia. It can manifest as a result of other phobias, such as a fear of heights (acrophobia), a fear of enclosed spaces or being trapped (claustrophobia), a fear of crashing (through lack of understanding of aviation and the fact that plane crashes are sensationalized whereas safe plane travel is not) or a fear of panic attacks, in a place from which escape is not possible (agoraphobia).

A phobia of spiders or arachnophobia. Julie has moved into her new dream home, but after seeing many spiders she wants to move out. Her phobia is so bad if she wants to go to the toilet at night she has to wake her husband up to carry out a 10 minute check first.

Aerophobia is a fear of flying, which affects millions of people worldwide. ITV This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby believes she acquired aerophobia after a traumatic flying experience on a previous TV show that she worked on.

Danni Perrot loves the sea and yet her fear of sharks prevents her from swimming in it. She lives near the ocean and yet she hasn't swam in it for over 34 years.

Sandra age 62 has suffered with Claustrophobia all her life. Before she goes anywhere, she needs to know all the exits in advance. Even getting into a car is difficult and she can't be driven without having the windows open. Now needing life prolonging treatment, she needs to overcome her phobia to be able to have MRI scans and use hospital lifts.

Aerophobia is an exaggerated fear of flying. Musical performer David has had the most debilitating phobia of flying since he was aged 17; he is desperate to overcome his phobia once and for all so he will be able to go to a wedding abroad.

A phobia of dogs is medically referred to as cynophobia. Rosie Lewis had such a severe fear of dogs, that she once risked her life running in front of a bus to avoid a dog in her path.

Trypanophobia is a fear of needles and iatrophobia is a fear of doctors or medical tests. Alice, aged 22, has a phobia of anything medical. It is so debilitating for her that she faints at the sight of medical instruments. It has now transferred to a fear of fainting itself.

Pendulaphobia is a fear of anything that hangs and swings. Lucy Martin becomes extremely uncomfortable to see or be near anything that swings, constantly being on high alert to avoid swinging objects in her everyday life.

Gephyrophobia is a specific phobia characterized by the fear of bridges, tunnels and in specifically in this case of Jade, viaducts. The UK has 171 viaducts and thousands more archways, and whenever Jade sees a viaduct, she completely panics.

An irrational fear of the dentists is known as dentophobia. Ashlee got bullied at school for having no front teeth. She hasn't been to the dentist since she was 16, and she has lost 5 teeth in the last 10 years. Ashlee struggles to eat, has lost her self-esteem and is at breaking point.

An intense phobia of bees (melissophobia, or apiphobia) can become more problematic in the summer months, when bees appear in greater numbers. For Angela, summer is a season to be feared rather than enjoyed for this very reason.

Galeophobia, or the fear of sharks, comes from the Greek words “Galeos” sharks, and “Phobos” fear. Most people have a rational fear of sharks, however Alison’s fear is irrational. Even the thought of dipping her toes into the sea causes Alison to panic and be anxious.

Musophobia is the scientific name for the fear of mice and rats, and it is relatively common. Faye has had musophobia all her life, getting herself into a state of mass panic and high anxiety whenever she’s near mice.

Acrophobia is a mental health condition in which the individual experiences an intense fear of heights. For TV beauty expert Bryony Blake, she experiences intense fear and anxiety when she thinks of herself positioned at a significant height, having suffered with acrophobia since the age of 10.

Sharon has a fear of heights, known as acrophobia, which causes her anxiety and panic. As a child, Sharon’s uncle fell off a cliff and died — every since this traumatic experience, she has been terrified.

Hodophobia is an extreme irrational fear of traveling. In 1991, Nicola had a car accident and got trapped for 10 to 15 minutes in a car. Ever since then, she has very rarely been able to leave her home island in the Isle of Wight.

Xiaofaphobia is the fear of fire engines (branch of ochophobia, a fear of vehicles). 70-year old Elizabeth Hall has a debilitating phobia of seeing the fire service, despite the fire service saving lives every day.

Katie wants to overcome her fear of flying (aerophobia) for her mother Dianne, so they can finally go on a family holiday. Her flying phobia is so debilitating that it has prevented her from having a family holiday abroad for the last 20 years.

Coulrophobia is a fear (phobia) of clowns. Children and adults who fear clowns may experience extreme, irrational reactions when they see clowns in person, or viewing pictures or videos of clowns, such as Liz. She believes she has had the phobia since age 13.

A phobia of swallowing is known as phagophobia. Father of three, 28-year old Dave suffers with the phobia. Prior to working with The Speakmans, it had been a year since Dave had eaten solid food, with the prospect of eating real foods causing great stress, anxiety and panic.

This fear, called pediophobia, can be triggered by popular culture, horror movies, or another traumatic event even loosely related to dolls. Jenny’s fear is triggered by barbie dolls, especially if the arms of a doll gets pulled off. However even if Jenny touches a doll, she becomes hysterical.

Ailurophobia is a phobia of cats. People with ailurophobia may have extreme anxiety or fear when even thinking about cats. For Nicola, she believes she has had ailurophobia since the age of 3.

Claustrophobia is a fear of enclosed spaces — it can be triggered by things like being locked in a windowless room, being stuck in a crowded elevator, or driving on a congested highway. 68-year old Ursula has had debilitating claustrophobia ever since she got trapped in a skiing accident in Switzerland.

People affected by claustrophobia will often go out of their way to avoid confined spaces, such as lifts, tunnels, tube trains and public toilets, such as is the case of Bruce. Avoiding these places may reinforce the fear — Bruce has been avoiding trains and tunnels for 25 years.

Choking phobia is a fear of eating, drinking or taking pills. It is also called phagophobia, or pseudodysphagia. There is nothing wrong with the subject's throat, such as is the case with Ian Redpath from All On The Board. They fear that swallowing will cause pain or discomfort.

Automatonophobia is a phobia of human-like figures, such as dummies, statues and mannequins. Ever since falling over as a child and looking up to see an ominous statue looking down at her, Anna has had debilitating automatonophobia which affects her everyday life.

The fear of being in front of a camera and having your picture taken is called cameraphobia. It is not a new condition; ever since cameras were invented, the fear has existed. Ever since her mother told her that she was not photogenic, Nicola has been fearful of getting her photo taken.

A phobia of apples is known as malusdomesticaphobia. Celebrity journalist Dan Wootton revealed live on the ITV show ‘Lorraine’ that he has a phobia of apples, specifically of anyone eating an apple around him triggering his phobic response.

Chiroptophobia is the medical name for an irrational phobia or fear of bats. For Elaine Fitzpatrick, it’s the flying that triggers her phobic response. Bats are the only mammals on the planet that can fly.

The irrational fear of pudding or custard is called custodiaphobia. Despite seeming trivial, Michelle experiences debilitating anxiety and panic attacks if she comes close to custard, suffering from the phobia since she was in school.

Cafephobia (from Greek kafe, "coffee") is the fear of coffee. Becky’s phobia from Cornwall gets triggered even from the thought of accidentally spilling hot coffee onto herself, or smelling coffee to the point that it makes her feel sick and anxious.

Kampanaphobia (from Greek kampana, meaning bell) is the fear of bells. For Becky, she experiences panic by even seeing a church bell on TV, having to leave the room. This phobia is commonly triggered by a negative experience with bells, such as getting scared when a bell rings.

Ligyrophobia is a fear of loud noises, specifically sudden loud noises. Party poppers, fireworks, champagne corks and balloons popping can all be very triggering. Hayley Clarkson has suffered with a fear of sudden loud bangs all her life, not being able to go to parties and firework displays.

Musophobia is a phobia of mice and rats. Actress Linda Robson suffered with a fear of both mice and rats — her musophobia was so intense, she had to move house on more than one occasion just to get away from them.

Ichthyophobia is a persistent and irrational fear of fish. Individuals with ichthyophobia might fear seeing, smelling, touching, or eating fish. Pussycat Doll Ashley’s phobia of fish is triggered specifically by seafood in restaurants.

Michelle's irrational phobia of Simon Cowell began when she first watched The X Factor. Just the sight of the show's head judge caused her body to shiver, leaving her breathless with panic attacks.

Thanatophobia is an intense fear of death, or the dying process. Louise McDonald’s fear started when she selflessly donated her kidney to a friend who was desperately in need, and then got gravely ill afterwards. Also her brother died shortly after, exacerbating her fear of death.

Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders. It’s one of the world's most common phobias, with some believing venomous spiders led to the evolution of this fear. Dan Copper’s fear of spiders debilitates him in everyday life.

A phobia of dogs (cynophobia) can be hugely debilitating and socially compromising, when one consider the ever-increasing number of dog owners. Lisa is terrified of all dog breeds — even the thought of dogs entering her mind causes her to panic and sweat.

It’s estimated that 6.9 million people in the UK have agoraphobia (a fear of leaving the house). 52-year old Vicky has spent most of her adult life trapped in her own house, suffering with agoraphobia since she was 5 years old, sometimes not leaving the house for 6 months.

Samhainophobia is a fear of Halloween. People with this specific phobia feel anxious when they think about or experience anything to do with Halloween. In the case of Jenna, she’s specifically fearful of Halloween masks.

Cryophobia, a fear of ice and snow, is often worse during the winter months, even for those who specifically fear cold objects. Wendy’s phobia is so debilitating, that she almost missed her wedding due to a snow and ice forecast on her special day.

A phobia of bridges is known as gephyrophobia. In the case of Abigail Russell, she specifically has an exaggerated or irrational fear of driving over or crossing a bridge, which presents some considerable challenges to her daily life.

People with aquaphobia have severe, intense fear when they see or think about water. June Fuller gets severe panic attacks whenever she sees a pool or the sea; observing a waterfall is her worst nightmare.

The phobia also extends to many other types of small metal objects, including but not limited to ornate cutlery, coins, keys, and keychains. A kosmemophobe will go to great lengths to avoid these triggering items.

Katsaridaphobia is the fear of cockroaches. When a person has this phobia (such as Dr. Zoe from This Morning), they will do anything to avoid any sign of a cockroach in entering their home, even viewing them on their TV, to avoid them panicking or feeling sick.

Bathmophobia is the irrational fear of slopes or stairs. Over 30 years ago, Julie Finlay fell down a flight of stairs and ever since then she has suffered with a debilitating phobia whenever she climbs up the steps even in her own home.

Ammophobia, or ammosphobia, is the fear of walking on sand. Despite Louisa spending most of her childhood on the beach in Spain, after one traumatic experience at the age of 8, Louisa is now terrified of sand, being estranged from her mother who lives in Spain.

People that suffer sauceaphobia, such as Martin, are repulsed by the sight, taste and texture of sauce on their food (such as ketchup) and will always request their meal without these add-ons. Failure by a restaurant to do so will usually result in a tantrum by the sufferer of sauceaphobia.

A fear of flying is called aviophobia, or aerophobia. In the case of Carl, his fear of getting on a plane was inherited from childhood. For others, it can emerge from adulthood, as a result of various triggering factors.

One in five people in the UK have dentophobia, a phobia of the dentist, which can occur following a bad experience at the dentists, in childhood or adulthood. David Porter's dentophobia is so intense that even talking about the dentist gives him a panic attack.

This phobia is so unusual that it doesn't even have an official name. When asked by the Daily Mail about her unusual cutlery phobia, Zoe said, "I have spent almost the last twenty years dreading mealtimes and insisting on using only plastic cutlery, now I have to eat at a separate table from my four children and partner, Phil. I turn my back to avoid seeing a metal knife or fork.”

Illygnophobia is a fear of rollercoasters. The Speakmans help Gary overcome his rollercoaster phobia using their therapy and gradually exposing him to a rollercoaster, eventually helping Gary surprise his girlfriend Milly by having him sit on a rollercoaster and wait for her.

Tomophobia is a fear of medical interventions or upcoming surgical procedures. Liz Hughes has had the phobia all her life. She was never able to have any children and had to adopt, due to not wanting to be subjected to any medical intervention.

Most koumpounophobia sufferers are convinced that they are the only ones in the world to suffer from what appears to be such a strange fear of buttons, but the reality is it’s fairly common. For Alex, just the thought of shirt buttons make him feel sick.

Ranidaphobia is a fear of frogs and toads. For Wendy, her phobia was so debilitating that she was unable to leave the house in an effort to avoid even the slightest chance of seeing a frog or toads.